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The United States has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group implicated in terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries first came to light last year, after an report which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to fight – an discovery that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The government said he had a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed alleged to have financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the agency stated.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "major" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a statute endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and change national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.